If We're Both Not Married
by espergirl04
Summary: AU.  Eventually they got it right.  John/Teyla.


AU. John and Teyla through the years.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters, etc.

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><p>When he was 13, John Sheppard met Teyla Emmagen. Island girl. Skin the color of caramel and hair reddish and wild and untamed.<p>

She was cool, for a girl. She didn't mind it when her jeans got dirty because she had to dive to catch a football.

Unlike Rodney, Teyla was always game for whatever wild schemes he and Ford came up with and when things went wrong, she was always there to talk their way out of it.

When he was 15, he became infatuated with Larrin . Skinny, short skirts, tight shirts. They started dating and he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was taking Teyla's friendship for granted.

When his parents' divorce was getting to be too much, it was Teyla's house that he would go to. When Larrin did something particularly outrageous, it was Teyla that he would call. When he just wanted someone to chill with, it was Teyla who first came to mind.

Teyla asked John if they could talk during lunch and he said yes, but then Larrin had walked by in her cheerleading skirt and he'd gone after her. Ronon cornered him afterschool and asked him what the hell his problem was, Teyla's father had been in an accident and couldn't he see that she was a mess?

When he was 15, he went to his first funeral and held his best friend as she cried over the loss of her father.

When he was 17 he noticed that Teyla was getting noticed. Someone, he was guessing Laura Cadman, had taken her for a makeover. Her hair was shorter and straighter. Her clothes fit better. But she was still the girl that he tossed a football around with on the weekends and joined him and Ronon when they went surfing.

He didn't notice the look that she gave him when he dropped her off at her Aunt's house after school. He was talking about how he and Larrin were officially over and done with and what a relief it was. If he had noticed, maybe he would have thought about what else there could have been.

When he was 19 he met Nancy. She was smart, nice. Came from a good family. He would meet up with Teyla and Rodney to study in the library, but most of his free time was spent with his new girlfriend.

Teyla started dating some guy. Michael Kenmore. John discovered that punching your best friend's boyfriend in the jaw turned your best friend into your ex-best friend.

When he was 21, he got shitfaced drunk on his birthday. The kind of drunk that he said "that'll never be me." But there he was, standing on the bar, bragging about how he could out drink anyone there.

"I will challenge that," Teyla had said. They had started talking again after she had realized what an ass Michael really was. Things had never been quite the same though.

John just laughed and demanded tequila shots from the bartender. "You're on."

When he was 21, he had almost cheated on Nancy. Thankfully, he and Teyla were still aware what a terrible thing that would be for everyone involved. He wasn't a cheater and Teyla would never have messed around with someone else's man. Besides, they were just friends.

When he was 23, he started working for his father. He hated suits. He hated cubicles. But it was his best option and he'd always known that his father's job would one day be his job. Or if not his, then his brother's. Either way, both he and Dave had always known they'd be part of their father's business in some capacity.

He still met up with Ronon to go surfing. Teyla was too busy working on getting her PhD. They all met up for drinks though, even Rodney, Mr. Hot Shot at an up and coming Software Company.

When he was 25, he married Nancy. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Ronon and Rodney were there.

Teyla wasn't. She was back on her island working on an ethnography about her people.

It was a large ceremony and extremely formal.

When he was 27, he and Nancy filed for divorce. It wasn't working out. He was too preoccupied with the business to really be present at home and Nancy wanted to move from the West coast to the East for a job. He wasn't going to stand in her way. He also wasn't going with her.

He guessed that sometimes relationships ended and he found himself thinking about Teyla. It had been over a year since he'd talked with her.

When he was 29, he ran into Teyla at a coffee shop. He hadn't even realized that she'd been back.

"How does it feel to be published?"

She smiled, "I must admit, it does feel good."

She looked great. Tan and toned. She had on a tunic top and leggings with leather boots. The smile though, the smile was the same.

"Hey," John asked. "You want to grab dinner tonight?"

Turned out that Teyla was dating some guy named Kanaan. She jokingly asked him if he was going to punch her current boyfriend in the face.

"I've grown," he said. "Promise."

When he was 31, he rushed out of a business meeting as panic gripped him. Dave followed him out.

"Take over for me," he told his brother.

Dave stared at him. "Have you lost your damn mind? We need to land this deal!"

"Teyla," he said. "It's Teyla."

When he was 31, he ran down the corridor of a hospital until a nurse stopped him. He held Teyla's child in his arms and prayed that the baby's mom would get the chance to hold him, would get the chance to see him grow up.

When he was 31, he thought for a brief moment that he was going to lose the most important person in his life.

When he was 33, he officially became a husband and a father.

It was a simple ceremony on the beach. Ronon and Rodney were beside him.

And as he went home with Teyla and Torren that night, he couldn't picture his life any other way.


End file.
